


Tempus Fugit

by celestialuna



Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Post-Canon, Coulson Academy, Don't Touch Lola (Agents of SHIELD), F/M, Melinda May is not toastersexual, Mention of Fitzsimmons, Philmd, SHIELD Academy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-15
Updated: 2020-08-15
Packaged: 2021-03-05 22:21:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,061
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25912759
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/celestialuna/pseuds/celestialuna
Summary: Phil plans to travel to the places he wants to see and he's not sure where to start. but then the thought pops into his head and suddenly, he knows.
Relationships: Phil Coulson/Melinda May, Philinda
Comments: 4
Kudos: 46





	Tempus Fugit

**Author's Note:**

> I’m bad at thinking up titles so I just named this short story with the playlist that told me to get off my butt and write.
> 
> This is for all the Philinda stans; the little crumbs we hoped for.

Phil removes the device and is brought back to his current location. There’s a smile on his face, remembering the warm smiles and words exchanged by the team that he spent years of his life both as a human and as an LMD with. He can’t help but miss them even more, miss the rush and the frustration he’d experienced what with all the challenges they faced together. He has time, so much of it. but no amount of time will change the care and yearning he has for his found family. He thinks of Jemma and Fitz, their little monkey who has every single one of them wrapped around her finger – Alya. He’s considered visiting them in their cottage, maybe playing a while or two with the little girl. Fitzsimmons. They have been through so much, while he did feel sad when they told him that they were retiring, He understood and was happy for them. They deserved this. All the time in the world to be together and never be separated again. He opens the case that Mack had given him, his eyes linger a while at the LMD remote; with one push of the button, He’ll turn off and that would be it. The thought crosses his mind but then he remembers the gift Mack has for him. He smiles, “Just what I thought.” He walks down the stairs of HQ and pressed the car keys. He hears a not-so familiar beep and can’t help the smile that grows wider as he sees Lola. It’s been a while since he drove this beauty and it was really hard – even for him as an LMD, to contain his excitement. He could go anywhere and everywhere with ease now.

He gets in the car, no idea where he wants to go first. But like said, He has time. He turns the car on and Lola’s velvety red is replaced with a slick black. He would’ve appreciated that she stayed red but knew that Mack had good intentions in making this change, maybe it was for the best. Phil Coulson loved Lola and appreciated that color. This could be a good change, a small nod that he was not _The Phil Coulson_ but rather one that had his memories and face but not who he was, not his soul. This was change, and he accepted that. He liked who he was now anyway and he would not deny that Lola in black did look really cool.

And just like that, He knows where he wants to go. He starts to drive Lola to the place he wants to see, to the person he’s been _dying_ to see.

It’s been a few hours since he’s arrived, he’s taken a quick walk across the place with a few lingering eyes on him. Every once in a while, someone plucks up the courage to talk to him and he doesn’t deny them a wholesome conversation filled with stories of his missions – though he’d tell them a bit vaguely due to their classified nature.

He sits in his car, taking in the sight of the place. _It’s beautiful_ is all he can say to describe the sight in front of him. He never thought he’d see this place, this was his dream, and she made it come true.

Like how it happened when Jemma fixed his system, there was a slow-motion effect that may be him just exaggerating but he’ll never admit it. She comes into his view and there’s a small smile on her face, one that is mirrored but amped up on him. _There she is._ He thinks.

She approaches him as he gets out of his car. “Hey. I thought you’re going on a sabbatical?” she asks.

“I am. This was the first place on my list.”

She smiles and turns to look at the sign a little farther away; Coulson Academy. “What do you think?”

“It’s more than what I could’ve dreamed of.”

“It was your dream to rebuild the academy.”

“ _His._ You made it and more happen, Melinda. Coulson Academy. _Wow._ ”

She looks at him while he continues to appreciate the view. She takes it all in, the face of the man she once protected, loved, mourned, fought, the man that was once her everything. She’s fully aware of what she’s lost and not even the Phil who stands before her can take all that pain away. But he still could be her friend through and through, because he understands her better than anyone else, and just by being here, it makes her feel comfortable – there is pain but there is also comfort.

“So, where do you plan to go next?” she asks him.

He shrugs his shoulders, “I don’t know yet. I have time to plan it out anyway.”

She snorts a bit, “You’ve got a lot of that. I’m here aging and you’ll still look the same.”

He turns to look at her, his eyes have that soft look, “Nonsense. You haven’t aged a bit, Melinda.” He says a little bit more endearingly than planned.

She smiles at his words. He’s just as much of a romantic as before.

“I was planning to call it a day. No other place on my list can beat this sight anyway.”

She nods. He shifts his weight from side to side, “So, _Director May_ , Wanna go grab some drinks?”

“After the lecture I just had to do? Hell yeah.”

She walks towards Lola, getting in the passenger seat. “You can tell me all about it over dinner and drinks.” He replies.

Melinda smiles taking in the view of Coulson and Lola. This was what she dreamed of for him. This was what she wanted for him in the one year they’ve been apart. He’s not the man she loved, but deep in her heart, she still is her friend and that will never change. This is the memory she wants to keep forever, even long after he makes the decision to turn off. That Phil Coulson was reunited with Lola and travelling the world. That the first place he’d gone to was the academy she had built in his honor. That Phil Coulson – his memories and all, led him back by her side. Times have changed. But he was by her side right now in this moment, and that was enough.

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first time ever to write so I'm pretty nervous about posting this but I do hope that you all like it! It's not necessarily the romantic happy ending you may have come here for but I just wanted a better ending for them with more closure.


End file.
